Resurrection of an SPG

My introduction to Saab automobiles began about 17 months ago when I drove
a friend's 1986 900T SPG. It was different. I had always owned Japanese
cars and the turbo on the Saab was surprising to say the least. He had
somehow convinced me that if I was going to purchase a Saab that this was
the one.

It took me about four months of searching and looking at several '86 SPG's
before I settled on one. They are hard to find but are out there and in
various conditions. The car I purchased had some front end damage to the
driver's side. The hood, grill, and front headlights('87>) were incorrect.
The interior was in fantastic shape except for the usual cracked leather
front seats. My friend checked out the engine and transmission and found
the car to be essentially sound but in dire need of attention. My goal was
to restore/repair the car to its near original condition. This is not a
complete restoration. Since I had no history on the car I assumed
everything needed to be done. The car had 163,000mi and
VIN#YS3AD35L3G2016617.

Figure 1: Poorly fitted hood, headlights, grill and side directional
markers. The '86 SPG should have the headlight/light in bezel but someone
tried to install '87> headlights and grill.

For the first seven months the car was not driven during repairs. I began
with the clutch and replaced it with the factory Saab Clutch Kit 900T (88
18 122), flywheel bearing, t/o bearing, rear engine main seal, clutch
master cylinder, and clutch pedal/bushing. Since this was my first major
repair I had assistance with this one. The most difficult part was
disengaging the pressure plate. My friend had a spacer ring that was
wedged between the fingers and housing of the pressure plate. He also had a
homemade tool to hold the flywheel stationary. I also had to drain and
remove my radiator. It was the original with slight damage and would need
to be dealt with at a later time.

Next came the replacement of the entire brake system. I installed front and
rear rebuilt brake calipers, Brembo rotors, Metal Master brake pads,
Girling brake master cylinder and Group6 stainless steel brake lines. I
also installed new lock plates, caliper bolts, and rotor screws. Once the
brake calipers were replaced and new U-clip/dampers installed the clunking
noise when braking in reverse disappeared. Since the brake work was being
done I was advised to do the suspension and installed the Saab RoadHandling
Kit (02 74 589). This includes front/rear springs, gas shocks and lowers
the car about 1.5". The kit is essentially a '87> SPG suspension. It is a
good idea to install the front driver's side shock before the brake master
cylinder. Once the brake master cylinder is installed its very difficult to
get at the two 12mm lock nuts(special tools exist) that hold the top shock
mount. Make sure you have a good spring compressor! Once you have the
compressed spring out be careful removing the compressor. We laid a board
over the compressed spring while releasing the tension on the spring
compressors.

AFTERFigure 2: This is the passenger's side front brakes and
suspension. The Saab RoadHandling Kit includes shocks and springs. The
calipers, rotors and brake pads were replaced along with the Group6
stainless brake lines . This is before the power steering rack, tie rod
ends and ball joints were replaced.